Education

  • Ph.D. Physics, University of Mississippi, USA (Feb 2022 – June 2026)
    • Advisor: Dr. Luca Bombelli
  • M.A. Physics, University of Mississippi, USA (Aug 2019 – Feb 2022)
  • B.S. Physics, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan (Aug 2013 – Jul 2017)
    • Undergraduate Advisor: Dr. Adam Zaman

Research

Modeling Plane Gravitational Waves in Causal Set Theory (Jan 2024 – present) CST has discrete analogs for the Ricci scalar and the Einstein–Hilbert action, but none for the Weyl tensor — the non-trace part of the curvature, and a long-standing gap in the programme. Pursuing one via geodesic deviation in causal sets sprinkled into plane gravitational-wave spacetimes produced two results: a method for determining causal relations in such spacetimes from coordinates alone — previously available only for conformally flat spacetimes, and what makes gravitational-wave causal sets simulable at all — and a feasibility bound showing that resolving the Weyl signal by this route would need on the order of 10^8 elements, beyond current computational reach.

Analyzing the Thickness of Discrete Geodesics in CST (Dec 2024 – Feb 2026) The discrete analog of a timelike geodesic — the longest chain between two elements — is not unique, and the family of longest chains carries a spatial spread that continuum geodesics do not have. Measuring this “thickness” for sprinklings in Minkowski spacetime gives a transverse spread scaling as H^0.56 with the height H of the causal interval in 4D, obtained for intervals of more than 1.6 million elements using a bespoke edge-relaxation algorithm and a bit-packed representation of the relations matrix. The problem is Poissonian last-passage percolation in disguise, placing it in the KPZ universality class, where 0.56 is the transversal fluctuation exponent — known rigorously only in 1+1 dimensions, where it is 2/3. Paper in preparation.

Action-Based Approaches to Classical Dynamics (Mar 2022 – Nov 2023) Existing frameworks for the classical growth of causal sets rely on stochastic rules and do not guarantee manifold-like causal sets; causal sets also lack a well-defined spatial hypersurface, which rules out Hamiltonian dynamics. This project explored whether growth could instead be dictated by the action alone, without reference to a Hamiltonian, Lagrangian, or local variables, drawing on Weiss variation, the Hamilton–Jacobi formalism, and dynamics for non-local Lagrangians.

Quantum Zeno Effect in a Two-Level System Coupled to Multiple Environments (Jul 2018 – Mar 2019) With Dr. Adam Zaman: analyzed decay rates of a two-level system simultaneously coupled to both strongly and weakly interacting oscillator baths across parameter regimes, using the polaron transformation and perturbation theory in the transformed frame.

Publications

  • Geodesic Deviation in Gravitational-Wave Causal Sets: Thickness of Geodesic Analogs and the Weyl Tensor, with L. Bombelli. In preparation (July 2026).

Conferences and Invited Seminars

  • Gulf Coast Gravity Meeting, Troy University, Troy, AL (April 2026)
  • APS Global Summit, Denver, CO (March 2026)
  • Virtual Causal Set Seminar (February 2026)
  • Invited seminar, Mathematical Physics Group, University of California, Davis (June 2025)
  • Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting, Cal. State – Fullerton (April 2025)

Teaching

Lab Instructor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Mississippi (Fall 2019 – Spring 2026)

  • ASTR 104 – Introduction to Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies
  • ASTR 103 – Introduction to Astronomy of the Solar System
  • ASTR 204 – Astronomy of Stars and Galaxies

Guest Lecturer (Substitute), ASTR 104 (Fall 2024) Delivered approximately three weeks of solo lectures during instructor leave.

Overseeing Undergraduate Research Project (June 2025) Supervised a project on generating Schwarzschild geodesics using finite-difference methods.

Course Grader, University of Mississippi

  • PHYS 212: Physics for Science & Engineering II (Fall 2024)
  • PHYS 214: General Physics II (Summer 2020, 2025)

High-School Physics & Astronomy Instructor, IBDP, Beaconhouse College Campus Gulberg, Lahore (June 2018 – May 2019)

Awards and Honors

  • Graduate School’s Dissertation Fellowship (Fall 2025)
  • Graduate School’s Summer Research Assistantship (Summer 2023)
  • Dean’s Honor List (Fall 2013 – Spring 2014)
  • Shortlisted for national IPhO team selection camps (Oct 2012 – Feb 2013)

Skills

  • Programming: Python (Numba + multitasking), Mathematica, LaTeX, Julia
  • Computing: High-performance computing at the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research
  • Observing: Telescope handling, including the 15-inch “Grubb” refractor (1892), 12-inch Meade reflector, and 7-inch Questar reflector

Service

  • PGSA Journal Club Coordinator (Fall 2023 – Spring 2024)
  • Senator and Head of Caregiver’s Subcommittee, Graduate Student Council (Fall 2024 – Spring 2025)